Summer Outreach Camp

Our primary goal is the spiritual growth of teens. As the ultimate expression of Christian Service, camps offer a fun, challenging, faith-building mission adventure they will never forget. SOC is a short 4 day community service offering 7th and 8th graders an opportunity to perform hands-on home repair projects and help with other work for people in need in our help in Waukesha County area. We were housed at Catholic Memorial High School, in Waukesha, who graciously opened their doors to us! We used the classrooms for sleeping, cafeteria for eating, showers for cleaning, and the library for programs. SOC begins with a program on the first evening and then again in the morning, during which participants learn more about the camp, get to know other campers, and receive important training for the meaningful work ahead and most importantly pray together. Youth start each day with an early breakfast, gather
for morning prayer and then head “off to the sites.” When the work day is done we returned to CMH got cleaned up, and went swimming at Buchner Pool and ate dinner. After dinner we held our evening program. Programs include fun activities, learning experiences, dramatic devotions, guest speakers and more. We ended the night with a snack and youth group devotions. This past August 1-4, 63 teens, 16 adults, 7 Youth ministers all representing 6 different parishes came together for our 2nd Summer Outreach Camp. Our Theme for SOC 2007 was “Open Your Eyes” Luke 4: 16-21.

Throughout the time at camp the young people were challenged in the evening programs, crew devotion time and Youth group devotions to: Open My Eyes to , “All I Can Be: Listen to God’s call” Open My Eyes to the Heart Open My Eyes to Humility Open My Eyes to Possibilities We worked at 6 homes, at the Growing Power Ranch and helped with work and projects
at; the homeless shelters in Waukesha (Siena House and Hebron House), The Catholic Worker House, and the Women’s Center.

2007 Summer Outreach
	Summer Outreach Camp this year. My crew and I worked for the Growing Power Farm. While at one of their sites, we made an all organic compost pile. We did that by throwing rotten produce into a pile. The cardboard boxes they were in, were also thrown on the pile. In all we finished 900 boxes of produce. It was gross, but when we thought about what we were doing this for, it didn’t seem so bad. While we were at the farm, we picked beans. The neat thing about the beans we were picking was that they went to people who are less fortunate, and cannot pay grocery store prices. The last activity that we participated in on the farm, was weeding. We took out a lot of weeds. At one point you could not tell what was weed or plants. Like I said, this was an amazing experience. Even though it was not the most pleasant work, it meant that we were doing all of this for people who did not have as much as us. It also felt great to know that the food they were getting was completely healthy, and had no pesticides.” Lydia Salus
“This was my first time at the SOC and I thought it was a great experience. Before I got there I was a little apprehensive, but looking back on it there was no reason to be worried and I had tons of fun. It also felt really good to help someone that really needed it. I worked on the farm and it really opened my eyes to the people that actually need help and are so thankful for anything you do for them from manual labor to just talking. I thought it was a great experience and would love to do it again.” Ryan Kohl
Summer Outreach Camp, I gained a lot. I had a really fun time, but besides that I was able to help others. I was surprised at the amount of people who needed help so close to my own house. I learned you don’t need to travel very far to help people. I helped out two elderly women who didn’t get any help from their husbands because they both had Alzheimer’s. You could just tell how grateful they were. Their appreciation made us want to work harder and kept us going in the heat. They were so sweet, and both even offered to help us. This camp made me more thankful for what I have. It made me want to help others and taught me about my faith. For such a short time I think I gained a ton.” Hailey Rowen